Criticism and choices- Zionism-Israel Web Log

Replies: 31 Comments

Why does no one admit that many angry Palestinians would be content with a return to the pre-1967 borders, a return to dignity, and a state of their own? It is because Israel has no intention of treating the Palestinians with the respect that indigenous people deserve. When you stand with Lipni, Barak, and especially Netanyahu, you stand with Bush, Sharon, Nixon, Kissinger, Stalin, Hitler, Lenin, Napoleon, and yes, Columbus. In short, you stand with the most prolific murderers of the modern world. Congratulations, and I sympathize with your inevitable disappointment, found at the doorstep to the next life, when you realize that you are "chosen" only to repay your gross significant karma.

Jesse Cargill, Friday, January 30th

Jo,

Yes you have a point!
Can you please explain how that is done?

Please doý philosophize...expalin exactly please, step by step, and I'll show you that Israel has does her best, that is, without committing suicide.

It is very easy to view airy philosophy when you don't live on the ground n close proximity with hostile neighbors.

Go on....Jo

Laurence

Laurence Seeff, Tuesday, January 27th

Excellent commentary. Why should the Jewish people in Israel allow non-Jews to decide the fate of Israel or even the "storyline" of the conflict forced upon Israel by terrorists? The non-Jews of the world fund, arm and train the enemies of Israel, spin the storyline to portray these enemies as resistance to occupation then attempt to coerce Israel into "peace" with ever more concessions of land and sovereignty. Take this to the logical extent and the Jews of Israel will end up confined to a small area of Israel, surrounded by well funded and armed enemies. I don't think so. The Jewish people deserve to live free and unharmed in their homeland and if that end requires violence then violence it will be.

Southern Wolf, Monday, January 26th

LBNAZ why thank you kindly for your pity, but it would be wasted on me. I deserve the pity of none.

And just to set the record straight, nobody leads me.

Kind regards for your reply - JO

JO, Sunday, January 25th

JO, I pity you and your leaders who think they benefit from credulous finger wagging steeped in sanctimony, ignorance and bigotry.

LBNAZ, Sunday, January 25th

History teaches us that the Jews have been picked on and abused.

Just like the abused child can grow up to be an abusive parent so have the Israelis.

Maybe it's time the Israeli Jews grew up, stopped telling lies to justify their brutality and looked upon this conflict through the eyes of reasonable ADULTS.

The leaders on both sides are in fact violent and cowardly.

When the good people of Gaza and the good people of Israel stop allowing their disgusting leaders to f*ck with their minds in a violent and self defeating manner we may be able to discuss peace - as mature adults - rather than stupid little brats.

If one of your children had an argument with a neighbor's child how would you go about solving the conflict.

Blow the crap out of your neighbor or seek mediation of some type.

Grow up the lot of you - so far all I can see (on this site) is the childish rationalization for violence - from both sides.

I know quite a few Jews and call them my friends, as I do Muslims. It breaks their hearts to see what is happening but it would appear many on both sides are simply gullible sheep getting led around by disgusting and unscrupulous and cynical leaders.

This site supports that no end.

Grow up the people of Israel and Gaza - your leaders are taking you into very dark places which will be very difficult to escape.

It will be the fair minded people of Israel and Gaza who can solve this problem. We must give them all the love and support we can.

From someone who has no axe to grind. I simply would like to see everyone in the ME to grow and prosper in peace.

Kind regards to you all and please ask yourselves this question:

Who profits from war?
Who encourages war?
Are your leaders sacrificing the lives or others for the benefit of who?

JO, Friday, January 23rd

Mr Zouhair Ghadban,

In your comments of 1/13/09, you made your frame of mind transparent to all when you wrote,
"Palestinians are not children that Israel is in charge of babysitting..." How skillfully you twist the 'reality' you claim so to value. Israel has never taken the role of Babysitter. Her actions have always been consistent with her declared intentions which are to live peacefully, and protect her people.

Israel took the role of Policeman in Gaza because there was no Gazan Agency who could or would.
Why did they have to serve as Policemen? Because they had to stop those Hamas agents who chose to sneak into Israeli towns and Deliberately select as their targets for murder innocent civilians who were attempting to do normal things like shopping, going to school, or having a party.
And more recently, to bring the seven years of Rockets fired, not into IDF forces, but into Israeli communities.
Such atrocities would not be tolerated by any Nation.
Even once.

Regardless of any other arguments, this sort of malignant action (especially when repeated many times) is sufficient violation of the Geneva Conventions to place the perpetrators, and all those who support them, outside of the protections provided by those Conventions.
You can go the UN WebSite and read them for yourself, if you have the courage to open your mind to it.

Israel's commitment has been to take every measure to avoid the accidental loss of Palestinian lives. Their objectives in this, as in every preceding battle, has been to stop the opposing armies from destroying them and the people they protect. And to give prompt medical attention to any person who needs it, Israeli, Palestinian or whoever.

I doubt there are many people left in the World who would not know the fate of any wounded Israeli who might be found by a Hamas agent.

Hamas, on the other hand has publicly and repeatedly applauded and rewarded the horrors committed by their agents, and have encouraged them to commit more of them.

When an Israeli is suspected of committing any sort of crime, he is tried and, if found guilty is punished: he is not made into a 'Hero' shown to every child as a model of behavior, as is done routinely by Hamas.

And please notice, neither Israel nor I seek to harm nor impede the actions of any Palestinian who (as our New President said so eloquently) is willing to open his fist and accept Israel's - always available - extended hand of peace and friendship.

You don't believe this?
Why not suggest that your friends in Gaza give it a try?

Norman Singer, Thursday, January 22nd

Ah Ami, Laurence and friends,
You are the best! I answer your questions and then you ask me the same questions. I love you guys, all of you!J May you and your perceived enamies all know real peace, harmony, compassionate love, sympathetic joy and liberation from the bondages of all mental defilements. This has been a wonderful conversation, thank you.

z.ghadban, Tuesday, January 20th

We must fight the terror hungry Hamas group find them hiding every rock and Murder them. I love Israel so much I want everyone to see us kill everyone in Gaza so they know what we will do to Christians if they take the wrong exit.

WIN WIN SITUATION, Sunday, January 18th

Mr Z,
You have a wonderful philosophy and admire great people and we should all stive to adhere to your great intentions.
HOWEVER!
You choose to write philosophy and don't relate to any REAL world issues. Ami put you face to face with videos and content which you have not related to. Why is that?
You see, Israel is faced with these videos and calls for annihilation. They are not philosophical or lofty calls but rather very REAL and have been translated into action - Real suicide bombers, real rockets etc).
According to your philosophy, Hamas should be preaching peace to the people to change their oultook instead of launching rockets at CIVILIANS.
Well, Mr Z. if you can change that and/or show me Hamas peace lovers and preachers calling for love and prosperity alongside Israel, I'll buy tractors and plant seeds.

Really!

Happy planting,

Laurence

Laurence, Tuesday, January 13th

Dearest Ami and friends,
My mind is a special place and I choose not to fill it with more reasons to join your side or their side in this dispute. I fill my mind with information that serves it in a healthy way. Because I choose not to spend my valuable hours on this planet and in this body on violent videos of anger and hatred does not mean I’m not well intentioned. It may even mean that I trust you. I’d much rather spend it watching videos of enlightened people, peaceful people, loving, compassionate and couragious people or “The Lion King with my beautiful boy. I would simply like the same for you or anyone Israeli or Palestinian.
As far as my ignoring reality goes, possibly, but I am dealing with a reality based on my own truth as I experience it through the content of my mind and within the framework of my own body. You can do the same. Right now. The idea’s I put forth are not mine, they don’t belong to me, they belong to life or the listener. I don’t own them so no I, ME, MY or Mine really. As far as ego goes, I agree I have a lot to learn and there are many facts, I know it’s convenient for us to say there is only one set of facts but there’s as many as there are people in this world. If Palestinians misery is on account of their own doing than what is Israelis misery on account of?
Israel’s anger is there because it’s there. Hey if you squeeze an orange you get orange juice. If you squeeze you or a Palestinian, you get anger. External solutions for internal problems. No matter how much you squeeze Jesus or Moses or Ghandi or Nelson Mandela or Mother Theresa or Martin Luther King, you get love and compassion. We both know how much they were squeezed. Am I saying I can match them? Most likely not but I’m willing to try and I’m sure if most people in the Middle East had the inclination they would too.
We all know what brought about the Hammas and it’s thinking in 1928. Palestinians are not children that Israel is in charge of babysitting, when to have the lights out what to trade or buy, who to do business with. They are people just like you who are aware of their right to freedom. Dominance, control or oppression simply does not work and the world is learning it. It did not work in South Africa, America, Ireland, Britain, India or Germany. Sooner or later people will be free, the Jews of all people can understand this I imagine.
Israel, or America or any other country with deadly powerful weapons is like kid with a large stick who walks around checking that no one else has the same stick. Of course these countries may see themselves as having the moral high ground but who’s doing the majority of the killing? If you win at war, any war, it just means you’ve killed and destructed the most. When America launched its attack on Iraq on the basis it had weapons of mass destruction, I found it entertaining. This coming from the Country that not only posses the greatest collection of weapons the world has ever known, but it’s the ONLY country to have ever used them and not just once. There’s the kid with the big stick that does not anyone else to have one.
The minds involved in the crises and dispute can not possibly consciously make healthy decisions to resolve it because THEY ARE THE MINDS THAT CREATED IT. Something in the minds has to change in order to create change. I am sure that sounds reasonable. “If you always think the way you’ve always thought; you’ll always feel the way you’ve always felt”. We have the power to buy tractors instead of Tanks, seeds instead of bullets and build bridges instead of walls. The choice is ours’ always ours. With every tank, F-18, rocket and grenade a county or group of people buy, they are saying to the world; “Were prepared for war”. Each purchase of a weapon or production of a weapon is the product of some thought and that thought is of fear, unrest, anger, and ill will. And that’s what the Universe sends it. What one thinks becomes a physical reality. But our physical realities, your home, your garden, your children and your weapons were all at one time simply thoughts.
For all those looking for a resolution. Here it is; Think differently. No need to learn about your enemy or how to operate highly evolved sophisticated weapons or equipment. Learn to think differently. Learn how to operate you mind. Instead of having sophisticated weapons have a sophisticated mind. It’s cheaper!
If you don’t want to be at war, don’t be at war. If you don’t want to be angry, don’t be angry regardless of how people treat us. I mean isn’t that integrity? It has nothing to do with other peoples actions. You simply follow through on your intentions regardless of the cost.
Israel as a Nation is harming itself, Hammas is harming itself. Just because they are unaware of it does not mean it is not happening. It just means they are unaware of it happening.
The minds we’ve appointed as Minister of defence are not the best people for the job because of the thoughts they occupy. The best minister’s would be the people we could not hire to protect us in the way we want to be protected. People like Jesus or Ghandi or Nelson Mandela. Maybe even call them the Minister of Peace. Do most countries even have a minister of peace? We simply have the unhealthy minds making unhealthy decisions on both sides of the fence in my opinion.
Bottom line…everybody wants to be happy and live in a peaceful loving environment.
Both groups just believe the way to do it is by war or controlling others.
Sorry to hear that David’s intelligent and well-informed comments were removed. His wisdom will be missed. The Idea that David abused the Page by an “ Irrelevant polemic that was longer than the article”, I found very funny- what was he writing about? A tabouli recipe? Does that mean I better not write intimate well investigated details that challenge the team strategy or my thoughts and opinions will be removed? Who is judging the criteria of this page? I know who ever removed his remarks is better than that but for now that is their choice. It will change in time.
I wish you, every Israeli, Palestinian the same regardless how you may view me and my ideas, Love, peace of mind and the courage to forgive.

Z.Ghadban, Tuesday, January 13th

Brilliant article Lawrence.Sick and tired of the media.Forcing peole to think that Israel is in the wrong.They dont remind you that Israel is suppling water and electricity to the people of Gaza.It is not targetting civilians unlike Hamas.Get real, Israel has to defend itself.If it didnt it would be in the sea...It has to show it is here to stay.The blood is on Hammas's hands.They dont care about there own people, if they did they would'nt force this reaction out of Israel.
If there was another soloution the Jew's are intelligent enough to have tried it by now.

Tal, Tuesday, January 13th

Dear Laurence,
Your article sent goose bump through my spine. I, and my friends and family are proud of you. It is because of you and your coligues that we,in the diaspora, can walk around the streets with heads up. Thank you for your excellent work in the field and for your excellent article.
Am Israel Chai!
Rachel.

Rachel, Monday, January 12th

Dear Laurence,
Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart for your understanding of our situation, for your hot-tempered heart.
I am sorry for my poor English (it is not my native language).
I was very glad to see papers by russian journalists here (I have red them in Russian). I think, it is worth to translate into English a paper by Victor Shenderovitch "An angle of reflection" (Виктор Шендерович "Угол отражения"). It is a very good answer about "disproportion" , about "the deaths of innoncent children".
Be healthy and strong.

Inna

Inna, Monday, January 12th

When will it end? When one side gives up.

Either the Jews have to walk into the sea, as Hamas demands, or else Hamas has to give up its goal, stated in its charter, of a completely Islamist middle east.

There is no middle way -- it's not about where borders should be, or whether Gaza should be Judenrein -- which is has been since Israel completely withdrew.

Israel has been left no choice but to use force to stop the murderous missiles from Hamas, an organization that serves as a proxy for the imperialist mullahs of Iran.

Kevin Jon Williams, Monday, January 12th

I have also been fighting the disinformation, lies, and anti-Semitism online. Though I wasn't surprised, it's disheartening to see so much of it. It's like it's ok with the UN and the rest of the world if people in Southern Israel are killed, maimed, have property damaged, and probably most importantly, have to live in constant fear that the next attack may be the one that injures or kills them or a loved one. No one should have to live that way.

When Hamas not only refused to halt, but increased the missile attacks, Israel had to attack, and Hamas and their Iranian masters knew that. They also knew that by storing munitions in mosques, hospitals, schools, and living areas, and using their fellow Palestinians as human shields, there would be a high civilian death toll.

This is their take on win-win. If they kill Israelis, they win, and if they force Israel to respond militarily, they will use the civilian deaths as a propaganda tool, and also win. As far as Hamas is concerned, they can't lose.

The world needs to stop falling for the same tricks over and over again. When the war is over, Europe will once again shower the Palestinians with money, which they will once again use to rearm, instead of building up their society as intended. It's the cycle that goes on and on.

Steven, Monday, January 12th

As a sometime critic of Israeli policy, I have to say that I see very little to criticize in this operation. Israel is accomplishing the dirty work for all of Western civilization in attempting to weaken, and perhaps destroy, a movement that has as its stated ends the reduction of women to chattel, the persecution of minorities, and ethnic cleansing; and violence as a means to those ends.

But at the end of the day, the argument is not a moral one; it is a strategic one. If Israel is not permitted to complete this task, it will give footing to countries like Iran that consistently oppose Western interests in all possible strategic ways. While publicly all Arab countries are opposed to this action of Israel's, privately each and every leader of every Arab country even remotely associated with Western interests is hoping that Israel will go even farther than it has announced it plans to. The stakes are quite high, because if Israel fails, Iran will be seen to have won, and much reassessment will take place.

I suggest that critics of this operation reconsider their strategic vision, and accept that even though war is sometimes ugly and always immoral, it can be necessary for the greater good of society.

Mark Kennet, Monday, January 12th

All the dialogue is interesting. The basic problem is quite simple. It is ANTI-SEMITISM. I believe most of the criticsm of Israel and the US is fundamentally a form of anti-semitism disguised as intellectual dialogue.

sol kutner, Monday, January 12th

Mr Z Ghadban your articles remind me so much of a column I read a year or so ago where the writer was urging the same message of peace and tranquility between people and nations but whose perspective was changed immediately when he was peacefully contemplating the great writers and driving his car in Jerusalem and a huge piece of concrete was thrown through his car window and having the effect of sharpening his perspective immediately.

You are not living in the real world Mr Z.

Hamas is committed to obliterating the state of Israel. Read their Charter.

Hamas kindergartens and schools train their children to hate, to kill, to aspire to martyrdom. Watch their own Tv programmes on youtube.

Ask yourself why Hamas has not built shelters for their civilians. If you are teaching martyrdom as a route to Paradise, there is no need for shelters
and the toll of human life lost is shouted like a badge of honour and as more cause to hate the enemy.

You are the one with problems of mental unwellness. Think about the dissociative state. Someone removed from reality and in a world of one's own.

Talk peace with the Sikhs in your own country - and count the casualties.

Talk peace with Pakistan fighting the Taleban terror on their borders - and count the casualties.

But do not criticise those who are forced to live with the reality of Hamas as a near neighbour refusing every opportunity for a peaceful, tranquil, and prosperous life for its people while blinded with hatred and religious fanaticism.

Lee, Monday, January 12th

Laurence,

Thank you so much for your honesty and, yes, your anger. I wish all Jews, especially my fellow Americans, would realize this is an unfortunate, but necessary, war. I am 100% behind Israel for each and every reason you mentioned. Thank you!

Stephanie, Monday, January 12th

Laurence,

Don't waste your breath on "Wow." He gave the game away with his comment about Jews monopolizing the media. So we know where he comes from. He blames Israel for protecting its citizens with bomb shelters so that not more of them were killed. In contrast, Hamas sacrifices their own as "martyrs" to the cause. You won't find a single bomb shelter in Gaza - but lots of tunnels for smuggling weapons.

Carlos, Monday, January 12th

Wow,

Hate does blind all logic and common sense. Unfortunately you missed something - I hope it is not hate-caused blindness.

"are you so cold & cruel that the even the deaths of innoncent children don't raise any concern in your heart?"
I addressed this so much so that I may forgive for death my own but will remain sore at being forced into a situation where unfortunately and sorrowfully and sadly and tragically I took an innocent life.
That is how cold I am Wow.

If Israel went into Gaza with children in front of tanks the numbers would be the same. If Allah is Great and will turn Gaza into an Israeli graveyard, where is he and why is the Hamas leadership hiding in burrows?

If we targeted the innocent, the numbers might be close to a million within three hours. We do not and never will, unlike the Hamas (thank God).

You forgot to argue any point. Your only reference is a mere 17 or 18 Israelis, which seems to be quite ok with you. I guess you are very emotional about those 17 or 18.

Hmmm...

Your comments are welcome.

Maybe watch this video http://www.memritv.org/video.html and see why (unfortunately once again) there are civilian causalties in Gaza.

Laurence

Laurence, Sunday, January 11th

When will it stop?

It will stop when the US and Europe make it clear to Arabs, Palestinians, and especially Palestinian terrorist organizations that they will never have what they want. There are only two choices for the Palestinians leadership: negotiate or be destroyed.

As long as the Palestinian leadership believes that it can convince the rest of the world to pressure Israel into compromising its own security, this will never end. Those who claim to "support" the Palestinians unwittingly prolong the conflict by criticizing the Israelis when the Palestinian leadership is actually responsible.

Amy Tuteur, Sunday, January 11th

i am so happy that i am not you.
all that hate in your heart is such a shame. i pity you. are you so cold & cruel that the even the deaths of innoncent children don't raise any concern in your heart? 200 innoncent children murdered in 10 days vs rockets that haven't touched a person..oh i mean 18 over 7 yrs?
the whole world is watching in shock & complete disgust....thank god for the web, you can't monopolize the media anymore.

wow, Sunday, January 11th

You ask "When will it stop?"

All that Hamas needs to do is say "we'll stop firing rockets into Israel." That's it.
That's the end of the fighting, and civilians getting killed (on both sides). But their "morality" just cannot accept such an option. It is against whatever fanatic code that drives them (and their instigators in Iran).

I'm not going to go into morality because I am convinced there is no debating with a fanatic. For better or for worse, the only tools at my disposal are logic and common sense - not morals (because I know they are worthless as an argument)!
Unfortunately, fanatics can NEVER rely on logic and common sense to explain their cause - they are locked inside their ideology, and NO outside argument will faze them even a little. It's literally "either agree with me or die!" Peace comes when the fanatics wake up to reality - Yasser Arafat and Fatah are just one example.

I can point out that Hamas "morals" included throwing Fatah memebers out of buildings and using civilians as human sheilds. Of course there is "disproportion" - if we sent civilians in front of tanks, the numbers would be equal.

Have a good day and love your children more than you hate the Jews.(Golda Meir)

L

Laurence Seeff, Sunday, January 11th

Mr Zouhair Ghadban,
I asked you to view videos. Obviously you did not view them. Had you done so, you would have known that they are not "videos of both sides" - they are Hamas videos, explaining what they intend to do in their own words. Hamas explaining that they will use civilians as shields.

I asked you to read the Hamas charter http://mideastweb.org/hamas.htm. You did not do so. That is not "Zionist propaganda" - it is Hamas in their own words.

So you are no longer well intentioned. You are ignoring facts and reality because they do not fit your ideas. You are pushing an idea, because you are ego involved with that idea. The idea has become more important than truth.

It is possible for everyone to have their own "narrative" but there is only one set of facts. Yes, Palestinians are certainly miserable. But the source of their misery, particularly in Gaza, is their own leadership.

Yes we are angry. We are angry because we face a movement of self-declared genocidal religious fanatics who have filled the world with a lot of propaganda, and who use their own people as hostages. We are angry because people like you help to spread this propaganda out of wilful ignorance.

It is possible to have dialogue when people will listen to each other. But we can't have dialogue if you refuse to look at the same things that we see. I have seen all the heartbreaking pictures of dead babies in Gaza and believe me it affects me and every sane Israeli. How could it not? But I also saw pictures of little children in military uniforms, little children taught to love the bee who kills Jews and the rabbit who kills Jews. The philosophy behind Hamas did not start in 1967 or 1987. It started in 1928, when Hassan al Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood. He is quoted in their charter. This is not Sari Nusseibeh protesting the occupation. It is a movement that perverted Palestinian society for its own ends.

David abused the comment page to write an irrelevant polemic that was longer than the article, quoting every BS anti-Zionist shiboleth. The post was removed. He can write what he likes in Stormfront and Rense.com and counterpunch and independent. You wrote "Very well said David. You are a man of great wisdom." So you have passed judgement, and decided that Zionism is evil and that my people have no right to self determination. Then you make believe you are neutral. That is not honest and it is not "good intentions."

Ami Isseroff, Sunday, January 11th

Thank you, my comments are well meant and because I am well meaning and committed to it I keep producing that in my life. The blame game can be so tempting but it’s not for me anymore. There are plenty of videos on either side portraying the other as evil. I’ve been there done that and have little or no interest in it. I see both sides as they are. In Turmoil.
Comparing Hammas with the German war machine would at least require that they own an airplane….or even two. Any group of people who’ve been oppressed for long enough will begin to loose all sense of mental balance. This is why Israel is so afraid to let them govern themselves because it is aware of the underlying hatred. Israeli’s and Palestinians are both unhappy and feel threatened. Both groups are filled with misery and no amount of fighting will diminish that. Even if Israel manages to defeat the Palestinians it will have it’s own conscience to deal with and continue to an existence of constant threat as it has for the past 30 or so years, so again there will be no peace of mind. Israel will have accomplished nothing new. Israeli’s deserve to live in peace as any other person on the planet. Not because their Israeli’s or Jews but because their human beings. There is room for everyone on this planet. I just know it’s more important how we treat one another than it is which tribe we belong to. My wish is in the years to come you may find that treating your neighbour with love, compassion, understanding and forgiveness may be of service to you too.

z.ghadban, Sunday, January 11th

I think your comments are well meant. Hamas insists that they want a culture of death. See videos - THEIR videos at http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2008/12/protest-against-perpetrators-of-gaza.html

Take a look at this as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3fGJc9IuG8&feature=related
Read the Hamas charter:
http://mideastweb.org/hamas.htm
The quote from al Banna is significant - Al Banna died in 1949. There was no occupation then.

Contrary to wishful thinking propaganda, Hamas have reiterated over and over that they stand by their charter.

Telling people not to chose sides against Hamas is like telling people not to choose sides against Nazis or child molesters or serial killers.

Ami Isseroff

Ami Isseroff, Sunday, January 11th

When will it stop?

They will stop when, and only when they (Israel, Palestinians, Americans, Africans, china and any group or individual) realize every act of violence against another violates thier own experience of peace. However I'm sure they would say they're determined to prove otherwise similar to the fly that’s determined and committed to buzzing its way through glass. It will buzz away till it's died trying and be none the wiser. When counties that use Weapons, walls or dominance to create peace, safety or protection for themselves realize that creating peace does not happen in the physical world, that it happens first in the mind then it will stop. When peace first happens in the mind it's impossible for you to attack or violate anyone because no thought of ill will, anger, animosity or hatred is being created. It will stop when people come out of their ignorance and realize you can’t create peace with geography or a piece of land or segregated group. Simply put when we are mentally well instead of mentally ill. My compassion, understanding and empathy go to both sides who buy into the illusion that they are different from one another. They are both in a state of pain, sadness, discomfort, anger, unrest, hatred, fear, mental turmoil and lack of peace. They are in fact very much alike. When we choose or generate hate against anyone it is us that suffers first. Even before, actually long before the “hated” party or parties know of our outrage or become victims of our hate, we suffer first. Hate is a negative emotion and generates all kinds of negative chemicals within ones own mind, that's why we feel agitated, irritated, anxious and frustrated. It's nature and our body’s way of simply saying; don't choose hate.
I am deeply saddened by all this hatred I read. And so the cycle of ignorance, and anger continues. Ah but does it? We as a race are slowly waking up, it's painful and there's resistance but we are waking up. Greatness is generations in the making and so is brutality. I am hopeful simply because I see on mass people becoming aware of themselves. The top selling books now are by Deepak chopra or Wyne Dyer or Eckart tolle. Who are these people you may ask? Good question; why not find out?
In the decades to come there will be great shifts and they won't be by nations first, they will be by individuals that purify their own minds of all negative thoughts of harm, ill will, hatred anger, animosity, resentment and vengeance. It will happen on both sides of the fence in the Middle East. Soon, very soon.
My invitation is this, first be aware of your own anger and hatred and realize that we cannot help anyone in that state of mind, all we've done is simply choose which side of the hate circle we stand, but make no mistake, were still in the same circle. I challenge you not to choose sides, instead see everyone as the same, unable to break out a cycle of violence and hatred. If you can do this you have managed to generate equanimity in your own mind and avoid the same mental reactions that let to this dispute in the first place. This does not mean you don’t care, it means you are now in psychological position to create long-term permanent change, something that’s much needed in the Middle East and around the world.

Z. Ghadban, Sunday, January 11th

Very well said David. You are a man of great wisdom.

Z. Ghadban, Sunday, January 11th

Constructive comments, including corrections, are welcome. Do not use this space for spam, publishing articles, self promotion, racism, anti-Zionist propaganda or character defamation. Inappropriate comments will be deleted. See our Comment policy for details. By posting here, you agree to the Comment policy.

ZioNation - Progressive Zionism and Israel Web Log

Criticism and choices